Chattanooga proposes open data initiative

Read more

Chattanooga officials want to free the city's data from the traditional bureaucratic bonds of closed government and grant regular citizens open access to the huge amounts of information stored by city agencies, according to a draft resolution released Thursday.

According to the five-point plan, the city's information technology department soon could publish a list of all "city data sets," with orders to specify whether each has been opened to the public, "and if not, why."

Each city department will choose three "priority" sets of data in its possession to publish within six months of the city adopting the resolution, and a new website -- data.chattanooga.gov -- will serve as a portal for people to track down facts and figures maintained by the city, according to the draft resolution.

"The City of Chattanooga is committed to using technology to foster open, transparent, valuable, and accessible government," the resolution's authors wrote.